Healthy diet reduces markers of cardiac injury and inflammation regardless of macronutrients: Results from the OmniHeart trial
Open accessAbstract
Background Despite diet being a first-line strategy for preventing cardiovascular disease, the optimal macronutrient profile remains unclear. We studied the effects of macronutrient profile on subclinical cardiovascular injury and inflammation.Methods OmniHeart was a randomized 3-period, crossover feeding study in 164 adults with high blood pressure or hypertension (SBP 120-159 or DBP 80-99 mm Hg). Participants were fed each of 3 diets (emphasizing carbohydrate (CARB), protein (PROT), or unsaturated fat (UNSAT)) for 6-weeks, with feeding periods separated by a washout period. Weight was held constant. Fasting serum was collected at baseline while participants ate their own diets and after each feeding period. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured in stored specimens.Results The average age was 53.6 years, 55% were African American, and 45% were women. At baseline, the median (25th-percentile, 75th-percentile) hs-cTnI was 3.3 ng/L (1.9, 5.6) and hs-CRP was 2.2 mg/L (1.1, 5.2). Compared to baseline, all 3 diets reduced hs-cTnI: CARB -8.6% (95%CI: -16.1, -0.4), PROT -10.8% (-18.4, -2.5), and UNSAT -9.4% (-17.4, -0.5). Hs-CRP was similarly changed by -13.9 to -17.0%. Hs-cTnI and hs-CRP reductions were of similar magnitudes as SBP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) but were not associated with these risk-factor reductions (P-values = 0.09). There were no between-diet differences in hs-cTnI and hs-CRP reductions.Conclusions Healthy diet, regardless of macronutrient emphasis, directly mitigated subclinical cardiac injury and inflammation in a population at risk for cardiovascular disease. These findings support dietary recommendations emphasizing healthy foods rather than any one macronutrient.Trial registration This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov, number: NCT00051350; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00051350.
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The eco-Atkins and OMNIHEART study diets showed weight loss and improvement of cardiometabolic markers.
“The eco-Atkins study diet, which used a vegan Atkins-style diet [219], and the OMNIHEART study diet, which provided a moderately low-carb diet by substituting 10% of calories from carbohydrate with either protein or unsaturated fat [220], echo this approach and showed weight loss and an improvement of cardiometabolic markers.”
From Lifestyle Medicine for Obesity in the Era of Highly Effective Anti-Obesity Treatment (2025) · cites this paper as [220]
The Dietary Intervention section describes the OmniHeart protein- and unsaturated-fat-rich diets as replacing 10% of calories from carbohydrate, and the Results report improvements in cardiac-injury and inflammation markers. But the Dietary Intervention section says calories were adjusted to keep weight within 2% of baseline; the study does not support the claim that the OmniHeart diets produced weight loss. The separate eco-Atkins citation is not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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References 48 · Cited by 27
- Authors
- Kovell, L. C., Yeung, E. H., Miller, E. R., Appel, L. J., Christenson, R. H., Rebuck, H., Schulman, S. P., & Juraschek, S. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Juraschek, Stephen P.
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Journal of Cardiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-01
- Volume
- 299
- Pages
- 282-288
- ISSN
- 0167-5273 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7172033
- OpenAlex
- W2964432577
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 3.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Cardiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Sodium Intake and Health
- Keywords
- healthy eating, cardiac troponin I, C-reactive protein, inflammation, hypertension, dietary carbohydrates, dietary protein, cardiovascular disease prevention, dietary intervention, cardiovascular risk factors, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure reduction, serum biomarkers, African American adults
- MeSH terms
- Diet, Healthy, Nutrients, Adult, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Fats, Unsaturated, Dietary Proteins, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Biomarkers, Cross-Over Studies, Inflammation Mediators, Troponin T
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